- How the DE-LH Exam Is Actually Structured
- Life General Knowledge & Delaware Life Domains (1-8)
- Accident and Health & Delaware Health Domains (9-17)
- Domain Weighting and the Ethics Question
- Registration, Fees, and Retake Rules
- Who Sits for This Exam
- Mapping a Study Plan to the 17 Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The DE-LH path covers 17 domains split across a separate Life exam and a separate Accident and Health exam.
- Together, both exams total 221 multiple-choice items: 182 scored and 39 pretest, in 2 hours 15 minutes each.
- Insurance Ethics (Domains 8 and 17) accounts for 24 of the 182 scored questions across both exams.
- Scheduling both major-line exams the same day costs one $90 fee instead of two separate fees.
How the DE-LH Exam Is Actually Structured
Delaware doesn't test life and health knowledge as one blended exam. The Delaware Department of Insurance requires two separate major-line exams - Life, and Accident and Health - each administered through Pearson VUE testing centers. If you're pursuing a combined life and health producer license, you'll need to pass both, and the 17 content domains covered in this guide are split accordingly: eight domains live inside the Life exam outline, and nine live inside the Accident and Health outline.
Each exam is further divided into a general knowledge portion and a state-specific portion. The general portion tests product and industry knowledge that mirrors national insurance concepts, while the state portion drills into Delaware statutes, regulations, and bulletins. This structure matters for scheduling and retakes, which we cover later. For a broader breakdown of exam length, timing, and difficulty expectations, see How Hard Is the DE-LH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Life General Knowledge & Delaware Life Domains (1-8)
The Life exam blends four general knowledge domains with four Delaware-specific domains. Nothing on this exam is optional reading - every domain below is fair game for the general or state portion.
Domain 1: Types of Policies
Covers term life, whole life, universal life, variable life, and how each product structure affects premiums, cash value growth, and death benefit guarantees.
- Know how term conversion and renewability differ from permanent policy guarantees
Domain 2: Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
Tests your grasp of nonforfeiture options, settlement options, waiver of premium, accidental death riders, and standard policy exclusions like suicide clauses.
- Memorize which riders modify death benefits versus premium obligations
Domain 3: Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policy
Focuses on field underwriting duties, insurable interest, application accuracy, conditional receipts, and delivery requirements before a policy takes effect.
- Understand the producer's role versus the underwriter's role at each application stage
Domain 4: Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
Covers annuities, qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, and how life insurance interacts with estate and retirement planning.
- Distinguish immediate versus deferred annuities and their tax treatment
Domains 5-7: Delaware Statutes, Rules, and Bulletins for Life
These three domains progress from statutes shared across life, accident and health, and property and casualty lines, to rules common to both life and health, to statutes pertinent to life insurance only. Expect questions on licensing rules, policy filing requirements, and Delaware-specific definitions.
- Separate what's "common to both life and health" from what applies to life alone - the exam tests that distinction directly
Domain 8: Insurance Ethics (Life)
Covers fiduciary duty, unfair trade practices, replacement rules, and disclosure obligations specific to Delaware-licensed producers.
- Review Delaware's unfair claims settlement and misrepresentation rules closely - ethics questions favor scenario-based wording
Accident and Health & Delaware Health Domains (9-17)
The Accident and Health exam mirrors the Life exam's structure: five general knowledge domains followed by four Delaware-specific domains.
Domain 9: Types of Policies
Disability income, long-term care, Medicare supplement, dental, and group versus individual health products.
- Know the coverage triggers that separate LTC policies from disability income policies
Domain 10: Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
Renewability provisions, coordination of benefits, elimination periods, and pre-existing condition clauses.
- Guaranteed renewable, noncancellable, and conditionally renewable definitions are frequently tested
Domain 11: Social Insurance
Medicare Parts A-D, Medicaid, and Social Security disability benefits as they interact with private health coverage.
- Understand which Medicare parts require supplemental private coverage
Domain 12: Other Insurance Concepts
Group health fundamentals, COBRA continuation, HIPAA portability, and managed care structures like HMOs and PPOs.
- Compare cost-sharing mechanics across HMO, PPO, and indemnity plans
Domain 13: Field Underwriting Procedures
Application completion, replacement disclosures, and the producer's duties before submitting health applications for underwriting review.
- Know what a producer can and cannot represent about pending underwriting decisions
Domains 14-16: Delaware Statutes, Rules, and Bulletins for Health
Following the same pattern as the life side, these domains move from statutes shared across all lines, to rules common to life and health, to statutes pertinent to health insurance only - including long-term care regulation.
- Health producers selling long-term care should pay close attention here, since Delaware requires dedicated LTC continuing education after licensure
Domain 17: Insurance Ethics (Health)
Parallels Domain 8 but applied to accident and health transactions - unfair claims practices, replacement disclosures, and producer conduct standards.
- Expect overlapping ethics scenarios between Domains 8 and 17; the underlying rules are consistent across both exams
Domain Weighting and the Ethics Question
Delaware's January 15, 2025 content outline places 24 of the 182 scored questions in Insurance Ethics content. Since domain percentages are normalized across the full two-exam path, Ethics (Domains 8 and 17 combined) works out to roughly 13% of everything you're scored on - a heavier concentration than most single general-knowledge domains carry on their own.
| Exam Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total multiple-choice items (both exams) | 221 |
| Scored items (both exams) | 182 |
| Pretest items (both exams, per handbook) | 39 |
| Time per exam | 2 hours 15 minutes |
| Combined time if scheduled same day | 4 hours 30 minutes |
| Ethics-domain scored items (Domains 8 & 17 combined) | 24 of 182 |
| Same-day scheduling fee for both exams | $90 |
Key Takeaway
Don't treat Ethics as filler content you'll absorb passively. At 24 of 182 scored items, Domains 8 and 17 deserve dedicated review sessions, not a quick skim the night before. For exact scoring thresholds, review DE-LH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Registration, Fees, and Retake Rules
Delaware doesn't mandate a specific prelicensing education program before you sit for either exam, which puts more weight on how well you self-study the domains above. What Delaware does require is straightforward but easy to overlook if you're rushing:
- Pass both the Life exam and the Accident and Health exam (or whichever single line you're licensing for)
- Submit a Delaware State Police criminal background report as part of your application
- Pay the $125 producer application fee separately from exam fees
Testing happens at Pearson VUE centers, and both the Life and Accident and Health exams are offered in Spanish - useful if that's your stronger working language for technical insurance terminology. If you schedule both major-line exams on the same day, Delaware charges one $90 fee rather than billing each exam separately, which is worth factoring into your prep timeline. A full breakdown of every fee you'll encounter, from application to renewal, is available in DE-LH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Once licensed, Delaware resident producers renew biennially by the last day of February in even-numbered years, completing 24 CE credits including 3 ethics credits. Health producers who sell long-term care products must also complete at least 3 Delaware long-term-care hours within that same renewal biennium - a direct extension of the material covered in Domains 14-16. For the full eligibility checklist before you even schedule an exam, see DE-LH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, and check current testing windows in DE-LH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Who Sits for This Exam
Candidates preparing for the DE-LH path typically fall into a few groups: career changers entering independent insurance sales, captive agents being onboarded by a carrier that writes life and health business in Delaware, and existing producers from other states adding Delaware as a resident or nonresident license. Because Delaware doesn't require a specific prelicensing course, some candidates come in with employer-provided training while others build knowledge entirely from independent study resources and practice exams. If you're weighing whether the credential fits your career plans, Is the DE-LH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and DE-LH Jobs both dig into where this license actually opens doors.
Mapping a Study Plan to the 17 Domains
Rather than studying domains in numerical order, group them by exam and by weight. The Delaware-specific domains (5-8 and 14-17) reward memorization of statute language, while the general knowledge domains (1-4 and 9-13) reward conceptual understanding you can apply to scenario questions. Sequencing your review this way keeps state-specific facts fresh closer to test day, when precise recall matters most.
Life General Knowledge (Domains 1-4)
- Build policy-type comparisons and rider function tables
- Drill underwriting and application scenarios
Delaware Life Statutes & Ethics (Domains 5-8)
- Read Delaware statutes tied to life and shared-lines regulation
- Practice ethics scenario questions daily, since this domain carries 24 of 182 scored items combined with Domain 17
Accident and Health General Knowledge (Domains 9-13)
- Contrast health product types and provisions
- Review Medicare/Medicaid social insurance details closely
Delaware Health Statutes & Ethics (Domains 14-17), Full Review
- Focus extra time on long-term care rules if you'll sell LTC products
- Run full-length timed practice sessions matching the 2-hour-15-minute format
For a structured week-by-week study plan built entirely around this domain breakdown, see DE-LH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. And once you've covered every domain, run timed practice questions modeled on the actual format at our DE-LH practice test platform to confirm you can perform under the real 2-hour-15-minute clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
You take two exams - Life, and Accident and Health - each covering their own set of domains. The 17 domains describe content areas within those two exams, not 17 separate tests.
The official outline confirms Insurance Ethics (Domains 8 and 17 combined) accounts for 24 of the 182 scored items. Delaware's published documents don't break out exact percentages for every remaining domain, so treat general knowledge domains as broadly weighted and prioritize thorough coverage rather than chasing unpublished percentages.
Yes, but scheduling them separately means paying exam fees for each sitting individually. Scheduling both on the same day qualifies you for one combined $90 fee instead.
You only need to retake the portion you failed. However, you must pass that remaining portion within one year of your original attempt, or your passing result on the other portion expires.
No. Delaware does not require a specific prelicensing education program, though many candidates still use structured courses or practice tests to work through all 17 domains systematically before their Pearson VUE appointment.